What Do I Do With So Much Gold?

[Psyga315]

So I'm making a new character for a 3.5 campaign and I got around to what my character's wealth is. Using the Wealth Per Level table, I discover my character has 9,000 gold and after a bit of a spending trip, he has about 8,000 left.

The question is what do I do with the rest of it? Do I buy magical items for my character? I'm flabbergasted by how much gold my character has right now.

 

[Celebrim]

Most DM's assume that gold can be turned freely into magic items. Check with your DM regarding what restrictions he places on buying magic items. I would assume that for a starting character at least, most DMs expect you to buy magic items regardless of how they plan to provide them during the campaign. But then again, always check with your DM.

I do find that if you don't assume gold can be turned freely into magic items, the purpose of gold in 3e becomes somewhat unclear.

In earlier editions, accumulation of wealth meant XP, and after being turned into XP, seemed to mostly serve as the means that higher and higher level characters would eventually be bound to the political life of the game world. Gold was the nest egg that they would use to become landed nobles, with a castle, retainers, and responsibilities. This in turn would open up new styles of play and novel new concerns. 3e play on the other hand seems to contain the assumption that regardless of your level, you'll still be basically living the life of a vagrant adventurer. If the DM doesn't make gold and magic items fungible, it's not so much that the game breaks but that (at least in my experience) players lose interest in gold.

 

[Legatus Legionis]

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[Psyga315]

Most DM's assume that gold can be turned freely into magic items. Check with your DM regarding what restrictions he places on buying magic items. I would assume that for a starting character at least, most DMs expect you to buy magic items regardless of how they plan to provide them during the campaign. But then again, always check with your DM.

I do find that if you don't assume gold can be turned freely into magic items, the purpose of gold in 3e becomes somewhat unclear.

In earlier editions, accumulation of wealth meant XP, and after being turned into XP, seemed to mostly serve as the means that higher and higher level characters would eventually be bound to the political life of the game world. Gold was the nest egg that they would use to become landed nobles, with a castle, retainers, and responsibilities. This in turn would open up new styles of play and novel new concerns. 3e play on the other hand seems to contain the assumption that regardless of your level, you'll still be basically living the life of a vagrant adventurer. If the DM doesn't make gold and magic items fungible, it's not so much that the game breaks but that (at least in my experience) players lose interest in gold.

I figured it had to do with magic items. I'm gonna talk with my DM on what to do with Magic Items. Until then, I'm keeping scarce and only getting Masterworks.

How fleshed out is your character's background?

What does he do between adventures?

What does he call home? Does he own land? Does he own a herd? Was he a trader (a caravan or ship)?

I never thought all that wealth was strictly for "Items On Hand" things.

I never thought of the GP like that. My character's mainly a rogue on his way to be an assassin. The setting is Spelljammer, so I can probably believe he's something of a migrant. Gonna see how much a ship's costing.

 

[delericho]

So I'm making a new character for a 3.5 campaign and I got around to what my character's wealth is. Using the Wealth Per Level table...

Strictly speaking, the WbL table shows the expected treasure a character of level X 'should' have found on their adventures, assuming 13.3 encounters of the appropriate EL and assuming average results on the random treasure tables.

Using that value to equip new characters (especially new characters joining an existing group) can have... interesting results.

But anyway...

The question is what do I do with the rest of it? Do I buy magical items for my character?

Yes, that would be the normal assumption. You should check with your DM both before and after doing so, to make sure he wants to put some restrictions or wants to okay your choices. In particular, it's common to place a limit on the amount can be spent on any single item.

But, yes, it is expected that you'll use most of the money to buy magic items.

 

[Cleon]

Third edition definitely assumes players will spend most of their wealth on magic items.

As has already been said here, check with your DM what's available and pick out whatever seems useful.

If you're not sure what you want, good starting items include a basic magic weapon, a cloak of resistance and a heward's handy haversack or bag of holding. The handy haversack's ability to sort its contents so whatever you want to reach is at the top is very useful if your DM is strict about how long it takes to rummage through your gear looking for a particular piece of equipment.

 

[Celebrim]

Third edition definitely assumes players will spend most of their wealth on magic items.

As has already been said here, check with your DM what's available and pick out whatever seems useful.

If you're not sure what you want, good starting items include a basic magic weapon, a cloak of resistance and a heward's handy haversack or bag of holding. The handy haversack's ability to sort its contents so whatever you want to reach is at the top is very useful if your DM is strict about how long it takes to rummage through your gear looking for a particular piece of equipment.

I agree with your choices. Heward's Handy Haversack is one of the best items in the game.

The other approach is to think how your DM is planning to kill you and then hard thwart it. For example, a ring of feather falling can be invaluable, and is extremely cheap. It's also hard to go wrong with an Amulet of Health, since you can never have enough hit points or a high enough Fort save.

 

[delericho]

I agree with your choices. Heward's Handy Haversack is one of the best items in the game.

Well... it's one of the best items in certain types of campaign. If the DM is going to ignore the encumbrance rules (which many do) and is going to largely ignore the time taken rummaging in a backpack (which many do), it becomes essentially useless.

(Or, to put it another way: you should never take such an item in one of my campaigns. )

 

[Imaculata]

Buy a castle!

 

[Dandu]

Buy a castle!

But what about those atrocious mortgage rates?